Yesterday I reported that the Merrian-Webster Dictionary has added 1,400 new words to their big book.
Today Dictionary.com has gone one better—they have issued a list of 5,900 new words and definitions added to their already extensive list.
And these new words come from all over the shop—some from biology and ecology, some from physics and astronomy, some from earth sciences, and a whole heap (as you might expect) from computers and technology.
Plus, of course, the usual new trendy inventions (many from the world of social media that you and I are too sensible to spend much time in).
Here’s a small sample:
Face reveal—the act, especially by an online content creator, gamer, or the like, of posting a photograph of their own face for the first time.
STBX—an inventive initialism meaning: ‘soon to be ex’ (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, or partner).
Love bomb—a gushy display of affection, often for the purpose of manipulation.
Sponge city—a type of urban planning model which emphasizes the management of flooding and stormwater through green infrastructure.
Lost in the sauce—clueless, confused, or in a fog; preoccupied or disoriented; inebriated.
Glow-up—a positive transformation, generally in appearance but often also in confidence, social capital, or ability.
Goated—considered by many people to be the GOAT (from the existing acronym Greatest Of All Time).
Longevity escape velocity—a hypothetical situation in which advances in medical science mean that a person’s remaining life expectancy increases at a rate which is faster than the passage of time.
And (clearly) there are a great many more along the same lines.
(Again, many of those are already familiar, but the point is that they are now officially recognised and recorded in the dictionary.)
Sometimes, I despair that these new expressions being thrust upon us will have the lifespan of a fruit fly—they will come, have their brief season in the sun, and then disappear again just as quickly.
Or am I being just a touch cynical here?
The latest edition of the podcast 'Words with Kel Richards' is now available. To listen to scroll further down this page or go to wherever you usually get your podcasts.
The latest edition of The Spectator Australia is in newsagents now -- with a golfing cartoon on the cover and my 'Language' column in the back.
My latest column at News24 online is about Chris Bowen's failed Pacific climate forum. Here's the link: 'World has lost interest': Chris Bowen's Pacific climate change circus proves a flop amid Japan, Chile and Canada indifference | News24
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* My latest book is called Pray Like This. To look at prayer I do what I do in these Ozword columns: I go through the most famous prayer in the world (The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father) and unpack it word by word—each chapter being a short word-study on a key word in that prayer. There is a total of 21 words studies in all. To find out more, here’s a link to the publisher’s website (where you can buy a copy if you wish): Pray Like This – matthiasmedia.com.au
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BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
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